


One of Them

by sea_of_stardust



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Episode: Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, Gen, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Short One Shot, Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Unsympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25634359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sea_of_stardust/pseuds/sea_of_stardust
Summary: After one too many reveals and close calls, Virgil has a choice to make.(Alternatively: My interpretation on how the end of DWIT went, from Virgil's perspective.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	One of Them

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm new to Ao3, and I've decided to start by sharing my post-new-episode writing sprees. First one out of two- possibly three if I can clean up the third enough to feel comfortable putting it out there- One Of Them, my first attempt at writing from Virgil’s perspective. This one focuses on his view of THAT moment.  
> Fair warning, I wrote this when I was still very anti-Dark Sides, so there is unsympathetic Remus and extreme unsympathetic Deceit. There's also implied Logicality and Prinxiety, because I can never get enough of them.  
> Original Written Date: 6/25/2019  
> 

Virgil was inwardly panicking.

The common cold known as The Duke had shown up and made another heavy implication, the second one in about a week. The ones from Thomas’ last debate were still sticking in his head like glue . . .

> _“So you’ve never been reluctant to share anything with the group, then?”_
> 
> _“What? I just meant your name.”_

Deceit knew how to get to him. Deceit knew how to get to everyone, but especially him. It had always been that way, but it wasn’t as bad then as it was now. Of course, he was basically asking for it, having been associated with the core Sides for a while now. That made him a target. That fact was only proved more today, with Remus showing up and immediately sharing his name.

> _“Of course I did, Dr. Seuss! I would never hide anything from you.”_

Sleek, Remus. It was like he wouldn’t catch that subtle glance, like he wouldn’t hear the tone that implied the underlying message. Did he really seem as dumb as all the others treated him?

“Virgil? You okay, buddy?”

Thomas’ voice jolted Virgil out of his initial rising panic. A glance around showed that it was just him and Thomas. No Logan, no Patton, no Remus, no Roman . . .

“Huh? Oh, yeah . . .”

_You’re not telling him the truth, Virgil._

The voice that hissed inside his head sounded like Deceit. Made sense, considering it was calling him out for lying. But what could he do? Could he really tell Thomas that he was once under the category of evil that Deceit and The Duke were classified under?

“I’m just . . . I’m a little disappointed in myself. I thought I could protect you from . . . them.”

He could tell Thomas. He was worried about telling everyone his name, and that went well in the end. The only hiccup was because of Patton and Roman, mainly Roman, and it was right after he told them. Thomas was quick to shut Roman down anyways. Why would this be anything different?

“The Dark Sides?”

_Are you that stupid? This is different._

The voice hissed again. It was right this time. This wasn’t telling the others something minor like a name, this was telling them that he once was one of the others. It may have been in the past, but he was associated with them, and in a time where even a mere mention of Deceit made Thomas panic, what would his reaction to Virgil be?

“The others. I-I thought . . . I thought I knew how to handle them.”

He could see it now. The slow reactions from Thomas, then each of the Sides . . .

Patton would be so confused, stuttering for a bit before falling into a reserved silence. 

Thomas would shake his head and laugh before noticing that he wasn't laughing too, then ask, _“Virgil, that can’t be true . . . Is it?”_

He wouldn’t have a choice at that point. He’d have to nod.

He could see the slightly disappointed look cross Roman’s face before he pulled out his perfectly manicured sword and held it towards him, proclaiming dramatically, _“I knew you were always the villain, Anxiety!”_

Even in his head, those words stung him more than anything else.

Then, Logan would calm the others down, but also lay down the cold, hard facts. _“Now Roman, I don’t believe jumping to the immediate conclusion that Virgil is a villain is a logical viewpoint. He has helped us on other occasions, in his own unique way. But, looking at our experiences with the Dark Sides through Deceit and the Duke, it’s obvious that no good things have come of mingling with them for too long.”_ After a pause for a sigh and a shift of his glasses, he’d finalize it. _“Virgil, I believe the only choice we have is to eject you from the main group. I’m truly sorry.”_

Thomas would nod dejectedly, Roman would continue staring him down with that painfully triumphant look, and Patton would give him a sad glance before looking away, siding with the others because he knew it was true. Especially because it came from Logan.

Everything he had gained would be gone in an instant.

“Well, I think we’re all trying to figure them out for now. It’ll take some time to figure everything out.”

But, if he kept quiet, would the outcome really be any better? Deceit showed he wasn’t afraid of openly messing with everyone, and- as he knew too well- he could make people play his game without them even knowing. Take Roman, for example. So caught up in the fact he was getting some attention that he nearly played himself into winning the game for Deceit. The stupid, yet lovable idiot . . .

But, he couldn’t focus on last time’s victory. Deceit would come back, and if not in person, through the others. Not just the others, like Achmed-from-Twisted Remus, but through Logan, Roman, and Patton, too. He had started with the first already, and he showed that he wasn’t afraid to jump into conversations as the other main sides. He pulled off Patton pretty well (minus the minor costume mix-up) and had everyone listening- even him at times- at least until he started acting like Logan. He almost pulled off Logan too, but he slipped up in looks once again, plus the fact that he was speaking too casually to be Logan and that everyone was on guard. Even now, he felt he couldn’t trust any of the others. Not Roman, not Logan, not even Patton.

Deceit had started up one of his games with Virgil as the opponent, and as of now, he wasn’t winning.

“Yeah, but I should know better!”

Deceit knew that he wouldn’t want to tell the others about his past. It would create an uproar in an already unstable society. But sadly for Virgil, that’s exactly what the liar wanted. With the game afoot and the hints laid down, he’d begin to force it himself.

It would only take a few words to convince Roman that Virgil was the villain again. He believed it once, Deceit could make him believe it again. Add the fact that it doesn’t take much to make him do what Deceit wants, and even if he doesn’t fully believe it, he’ll still take part in doing the deed.

Logan would be harder, but even being the Boss of Beat Poetry that he was, words could be used against him as well. With the facts Deceit had and a little exaggeration, Logan could see the logic in not keeping Virgil around. Do it with Patton’s face, and Logan would be agreeing right away.

Patton would be hard, if not impossible. He might be able to use some restructuring lies and the face of Logan to convince Pat that not having Virgil in the main group would be healthier for Thomas; but if worse came to worst, with the right timing (and the fact that Roman straight-out told him how to be inconspicuous), Deceit could make an entrance as Patton and seal the deal.

All that would be left is for him or another Dark Side to cause a scene, make Virgil slip up (which wouldn’t be difficult at this point) and watch as the others argued with him until the timing was perfect to reveal everything: Have one of the Sides he used to think of as friends call him out for who he really was- one of the Dark Sides.

Just like that, Deceit would win.

The words after the victory, the words shared in private, would be a near repeat of what he had heard from the snake after he made the change of sides.

_“You honestly thought that you could truly be one of them? You should’ve known that the only place you belong is with us.”_

The smirk and quiet laugh that would follow would be too much to bear.

“Isn’t that . . . Kind of unfair? Why should you be held to a different standard than any other side?”

No matter which way he went, there was a brick wall. Virgil couldn’t wait, it was impossible to deny that the others were figuring it out- he knew Logan long enough to practically see when the gears were turning in his head. He couldn’t let his old friends reveal it for him, because he may not be Roman, but he had pride. And Patton showed that holding stuff in wasn’t good, so pretending his past didn’t exist wouldn’t help; not that it was really an option. The final way was just telling them himself. He was going to have to face the truth somehow, and being upfront may reduce the consequences . . . Even so, there would be so much backlash that he just didn’t want to deal with.

But he didn’t want to lose at Deceit’s game, either.

There was only one way to get close to winning: fake out the opponent by doing something they wouldn’t expect.

So Virgil wasn’t leaving this time. This was Thomas he was going to tell, an innocent person who was being manipulated by forces he didn’t even know existed until a little while ago. Why should he be lied to by a Side he’s grown to trust? Well, as well as you can trust the embodiment of Anxiety, anyways.

No, Thomas deserved the truth.

He took a deep breath, then looked Thomas dead in the eye. “ . . . Because I was one of them.”

It took a minute for the Viner to compute, but he eventually put the words together and figured out what Virgil meant. Thomas looked dumbstruck, betrayed, even a little scared. Virgil could see the questions running through his head, he could see him going over every interaction they’ve had to find proof that it wasn’t true . . .

He wouldn’t find any.

Having divulged enough, Virgil sunk down before any questions could be asked or actions could be taken.

_There you go, guys. He knows now._

_Bring on the consequences._

**Author's Note:**

> I love hearing comments and constructive criticism about my work, so if you have any, feel free to speak up! Also, tell me if I missed tagging or warning anything. Thanks for reading!


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